Northeast Iowa Food Bank

The Community Engagement Coordinator is a vital member of the Development, Marketing, and Communications team, working under the direction of the Community Engagement Manager to connect the community to the mission of the Northeast Iowa Food Bank. This role focuses on coordinating and supporting events, food and fund drives, and outreach efforts that mobilize the community in the fight against hunger. By ensuring volunteers, partners, and participants have meaningful and impactful experiences, the Community Engagement Coordinator strengthens relationships that help sustain programs providing more than 8.6 million meals annually to over 45,000 people facing food insecurity across our 16-county service area.

The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, highly organized, and passionate about bringing people together for a cause. They will play a key role in planning and executing events, coordinating food and fund drives, providing marketing content from community activities, and engaging with volunteers and partners to ensure positive experiences. Cultural competency is essential, as this role works directly with diverse community groups, schools, faith-based organizations, and businesses.

This coordinator-level position requires strong event planning and coordination skills, the ability to manage multiple priorities, and a collaborative spirit to work effectively across teams. The Community Engagement Coordinator must balance independent initiative with teamwork, demonstrating flexibility, professionalism, and enthusiasm in a fast-paced environment.

The ideal candidate will also bring creativity and a commitment to equity and social justice, helping to ensure all community members feel welcomed and valued in their engagement with the Food Bank. At the Northeast Iowa Food Bank, we work as a unified team to close the Meal Gap in northeast Iowa, and the Community Engagement Coordinator plays a critical role in making that mission visible and actionable throughout the community.

The responsibilities of the Community Engagement Coordinator include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Support the planning, logistics, and execution of Northeast Iowa Food Bank–led events, ensuring they are well-organized, mission-centered, and impactful.

• Coordinate community food and fund drives, serving as the point of contact for businesses, schools, civic groups, and faith- based partners.

• Capture content, photos, and stories during assigned events; create social media and other public-facing materials, in coordination with the Marketing & Communications team.

• Cultivate and maintain relationships with in-kind donors and vendors to support Food Bank events and special projects.

• Provide on-site support for events, including set-up, vendor coordination, volunteer oversight, and day-of logistics.

• Help develop and support community event committees, ensuring volunteers and community members are engaged in meaningful roles.

• Assist with the donation entry process as directed, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with established gift- processing procedures, in coordination with the Grants & Development Operations Coordinator and Administrative Assistant.

• Represent NEIFB at community outreach opportunities, sharing the mission and impact of the Food Bank.

• Assist in welcoming and engaging onsite visitors, including volunteers, community members, and business partners.

• Provide support to volunteers involved in Food Bank events and projects, ensuring proper guidance, safety, and positive experiences.

• Greet, train, and supervise volunteers as well as share the mission of the NEIFB; provide general guidance of projects; assure proper training of volunteers to include specific jobs and safety concerns. Communicate frequently with volunteers to ensure they are satisfied and appropriately placed.

• In instances of a federal, state, or locally declared emergency, NEIFB is typically considered an essential service and emergency responder; all employees may be called in to perform regular or emergent duties.

• Other duties as assigned.

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Required:

• 4-year degree or 5 years' experience related to sales, communications, event management, or marketing/social media; combination of education and experience taken into consideration

• Exceptional oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills

• Experience in graphic design

• Entrepreneurial approach to meeting challenges

• Proficiency in MS Office software

• Culturally competent, ability to work with diverse groups and individuals

• Ability to work nights and weekends, as needed

• Must pass a criminal background check

• Valid driver's license, safe driving record, current vehicle insurance and ability to use personal vehicle for OFB business

• Ability to develop strategy to accomplish objectives

• Ability to work as a team player, yet work independently checking in as appropriate

• Familiarity with social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.) and ability to support content creation and live posting during events

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Preferred:

• Ability to multitask, delegate, and adhere to deadlines in a fast-paced environment

• Experience as a manager/organizer

• Experience with non-profit organizations

• Creative, innovative, and big-picture thinker

• Knowledge of and experience with Adobe Suite and/or Canva for design and content support

• Experience supporting social media campaigns or event promotion Desired:

• Community involvement and knowledge of those communities in our 16-county service area

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Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. This position operates in both a typical office environment, in the community, as well as in the warehouse and requires use of a computer and other office equipment, such as phones, calculators, computer printers and copy machines and the ability to operate manual and automatic pallet jacks, pallet wrapping machines, cardboard baler, and cleaning equipment. This position also requires occasional nights and weekends so the ability to travel and work remotely in various environments is a necessity.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The position operates in a variety of settings both in and out of the Food Bank such as office desk, cooler, freezer, warehouse, and volunteer workrooms as well as a variety of locations in the community. Ability to communicate in a clear speaking voice in person, before large groups and over the phone. Ability to interpret instructions and questions when asked. Routine travel to meetings, functions, and special events is normal, which requires driving. The person in this position will be required to be able to move pallets of food using pallet jacks, stay on their feet for up to four hours at a time, and work in the cooler and freezer. The employee may be required to push, pull, lift, and/or carry objects up to forty pounds.

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NEIFB Core Values

Attitude of Helpfulness

Confidently Humble

Clear Communication

Empathetic to the Community

Solution Centered

Striving for Excellence

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NEIFB Core Focus

Our Purpose:

Collaborate + Educate + Advocate = Feed the Food Insecure

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Our 10-Year Bold Aspiration:

Every Meal. Every Day. Everyone.

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Northeast Iowa Food Bank hereby affirms it is an equal opportunity employer, offering employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, gender expression or identity, pregnancy, leave status, genetic information or age and provides Equal Employment Opportunity to handicapped individuals, disabled veterans and veterans of the Vietnam era. Further, the Northeast Iowa Food Bank is an equal opportunity provider.

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